Malcolm Noble
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malcolmjnoble.bsky.social
Malcolm Noble
@malcolmjnoble.bsky.social
750 followers 500 following 890 posts
Bibliographer & historian with broad interests, incl. business and economic hisotry, queer print, oral history, co-operative HE. he/him www.malcolmnoble.co.uk
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malcolmjnoble.bsky.social
Malcolm Noble @malcolmjnoble.bsky.social · Nov 11
Hi! I am an economic and social historian with broad, interdisciplinary interests that need a thread. C19th local government finance, business history, co-operative education, and queer print are my principal preoccupations; there are others. 1/
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
ernie.tedium.co
If you have been sharing that Malwarebytes article on the Gmail thing, you should note the giant correction up top.

www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Update November 22. We’ve updated this article after realising we contributed to a perfect storm of misunderstanding around a recent change in the wording and placement of Gmail’s smart features. The settings themselves aren’t new, but the way Google recently rewrote and surfaced them led a lot of people (including us) to believe Gmail content might be used to train Google’s AI models, and that users were being opted in automatically. After taking a closer look at Google’s documentation and reviewing other reporting, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Gmail does scan email content to power its own “smart features,” such as spam filtering, categorisation, and writing suggestions. But this is part of how Gmail normally works and isn’t the same as training Google’s generative AI models. Google also maintains that these feature settings are opt-in rather than opt-out, although users’ experiences seem to vary depending on when and how the new wording appeared. It’s easy to see where the confusion came from. Google’s updated language around “smart features” is vague, and the term “smart” often implies AI—especially at a time when Gemini is being integrated into other parts of Google’s products. When the new wording started appearing for some users without much explanation, many assumed it signalled a broader shift. We’ve revised this article to reflect what we can confirm from Google’s documentation, as it’s always been our aim to give readers accurate, helpful guidance.
November 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
davidwearing.bsky.social
"Reform would be worse" is both entirely correct and entirely irrelevant until polling day 2029. What matters right now is that Labour's approach is morally repugnant on its own terms, *and is empowering Reform*. As things stand today, its not Labour or Reform. Its Labour *then* Reform.
danielsohege.bsky.social Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 3d
While it feels like I'm repeatedly slamming my head against a brick wall repeating this massively simple concept. Saying "Reform would be worse" doesn't make what Labour is doing better. Labour is now the most anti-immigration, anti-any marginalised group, government we have seen in decades. 1/
danielsohege.bsky.social Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · Oct 16
Very long thread: As with many of Labour's anti-immigration policies, this isn't new. British police have been stationed in other countries for this purpose for a long time
It does however show how Labour is pushing more on anti-immigration than previous governments. 1/
www.lbc.co.uk/article/shab...
November 22, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
apocalypsisnova.bsky.social
Three 2-year postdoctoral positions in COLIBRI, the ERC project based at Sapienza on the reconstruction and study of Hernando Colón's library!

web.uniroma1.it/trasparenza/...

web.uniroma1.it/trasparenza/...

web.uniroma1.it/trasparenza/...

Deadline 12 Dec
November 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
rusty.todayintabs.com
Remember when Aaron Swartz downloaded JSTOR archives that he had full legal rights to download and the FBI hounded him literally to death for it? Anyway,
damonberes.com Damon Beres @damonberes.com · 19d
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies
Common Crawl claims to provide a public benefit, but it lies to publishers about its activities.
www.theatlantic.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
friendlesschurches.bsky.social
In the UK, you could demolish a church VAT-free, but if you wanted to repair that church, you would have to pay VAT.
November 22, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
oldinprintads.bsky.social
From America, Nov 1950: Airline Travel ad from TWA (Trans World Airlines)

(+Air Travel; Flights to Europe; and Flights to 16 World Capitals)

«Miracolo? Miracolo niente!»
An advert promoting air travel with flights to numerous locations across the US, Europe, Africa and Asia, encouraging booking through them. A smartly-dressed man returns home to Europe and is greeted by a crowd of villagers, signifying his swift and easy travel. Miracolo? Miracolo niente! A miracle? No, not quite. But how would you describe your TWA trip from the U.S. to Europe in less than a day? Could you make them understand how simple it was? Would they feel any part of that thrill when your Skyliner climbed through dazzling white to a lordly height in the blue? Could they conceive of spanning an ocean as smoothly as a sea bird glides? Could it be that even the word "miracle" isn't enough to picture the comfort and friendliness and all the other things that make TWA air travel at its best? ☆ ☆ ☆ Where in the world do you want to go? If it's abroad, TWA takes you to 16 world capitals. And right now is the time! It's "thrift season"-dollars go further-and TWA's new fares offer big savings! Call us or see your travel agent.
November 22, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
tabathasouthey.bsky.social
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
A screenshot of a Facebook post where a person named Andy ask the Well now “What the hell is transgender?” The Royal Canadian Air Force account response with “That’s a pretty big question asked in a pretty small way, Andy. ‘Transgender’ putting describes someone whose gender – who they know themselves to be – doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. It’s not new, and it’s certainly not a fad. People have lived this experience for as long as people have existed; we’re just finally talking about it openly. You don’t have to fully understand it right away, most learning takes time, but we can always start from a place of respect. That’s how decent folks handle things they’re still getting used to.”
November 22, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
paleofuture.bsky.social
It’s fun to think about the surgeon who will botch your surgery 20 years from now and what he’s doing at this moment. He just ran all his homework through ChatGPT. He just read that article about vaccines and autism at the CDC website. He just watched an Instagram video about the moon landing hoax.
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
oddthisday.bsky.social
In highly important news from history today, it’s the 80th anniversary of the 21st birthday of Christopher Tolkien, notable now for the wording (especially the small print) of the invitation to the party
20 Northmoor Road, Oxford. Professor and Mrs. Tolkien request the pleasure of your company on Wednesday, November 21st, 1945, to assist them in celebrating the Coming of Age of their Son Sub-Lieut. C. J. R. TOLKIEN, R.N.V.R. 6.30 p.m. onwards. R.S.V.P. if not coming. Carriages at midnight. Ambulances at 2 a.m. Wheelbarrows at 5 a.m. Hearses at daybreak.
November 21, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
bhgross144.bsky.social
Considering how many people I've met who work on sensory history, I'm surprised that I didn't know that New Mexico has had a "State Aroma" since 2023!

How long will it be before other states follow suit? (And what will they pick?)
November 21, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
participations.bsky.social
Announcing the latest issue of Participations! (Feel free to share :) ).

This issue, we feature articles on BookTok, K-Drama, Cinephiliac memory, inclusivity in Harry Potter fanfic and work on audiences in Ghana and Flanders! :)

www.participations.org
Participations – Journal of Audience and Reception Studies
www.participations.org
November 17, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
barristersecret.bsky.social
This government has not taken a single meaningful step to tackle the causes of the horrendous inefficiencies in the criminal justice system, instead rushing to dismantle trial by jury.

Legal professionals have offered numerous alternatives to address the backlog.

Ministers are not listening.
theguardian.com The Guardian @theguardian.com · 3d
MoJ to remove right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in controversial overhaul
MoJ to remove right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in controversial overhaul
Exclusive: Courts minister says change needed to stop criminals opting for juries to delay cases, sometimes by years, and clear huge backlog * UK politics live – latest updates Criminals will be stopped from “gaming the system” by choosing trial by jury in order to increase the chances of proceedings collapsing, the courts minister has said, promising to enact radical changes to limit jury trials by the next election. Drug dealers and career criminals were “laughing in the dock” knowing cases can take years to come to trial, Sarah Sackman told the Guardian, saying inaction would be a road to “chaos and ruin”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
booksofm.com
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."

There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
jaymoschella.bsky.social
Despite being a frankenbook, it preserves a trove of very early evidence (illuminated initials, marginalia, identifiable early binding). It also comes with about 300 years of unbroken provenance, which is important for us -- a public library -- as we look to model ethical acquisition practices. 3/7
Illuminated white-vine "C" for the front portion of the book. Note the slight difference in style from the other initials. These are two illuminated copies grafted together Gilt white-vine initials "S" Gilt white-vine initial P Closeup of a quite large tower watermark in one of the blank leaves
November 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
euthyphro.bsky.social
I haven’t seen this get covered in English yet so let me translate.

Grok is saying that the crematories at Auschwitz’s were conceived as disinfectant chambers, not mass execution and that the law has made it taboo to acknowledge that this is what they were

X is a Nazi site. Get off the Nazi site.
ldh.fr LDH France @ldh.fr · 4d
La #LDH porte plainte contre la publication de #Grok, l’intelligence artificielle du réseau social X, pour contestation de crimes contre l’humanité.
November 19, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
dbellingradt.bsky.social
And I will certainly use this post in my “Cultural History of AI” seminar next semester …
dbellingradt.bsky.social Daniel Bellingradt @dbellingradt.bsky.social · 3d
*laughs in historian* “… ranks among the 10 minds in history, rivalling polymaths like da Vinci or Newton…”
X user wrotator asks: Hey @grok how would you describe Elon Musk’s physique? How about his mind? And his relationship with his kids?
November 20, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
marshslibrary.bsky.social
And that's why you can't have ink in the reading room! Historic damage to a 1647 pamphlet on infant baptism by John Cotton #readers
Ink damage (possibly intentional?) to a page from the pamphlet 'The grounds and ends of the baptisme of the children of the faithful' by John Cotton, 1647
November 19, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
mattthr.bsky.social
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
November 18, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
earlymodernjohn.bsky.social
I was just thinking the other day that it is mad that if this continues then the book I'm writing, about London 1560-1630, will contain basically no British Library manuscript material. Would have been unthinkable to me but there hasn't been a manuscript catalogue for two years now!
hetanshah.bsky.social Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 6d
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
huffpost.co.uk
Lord Dubs said he was "lost for words".
Labour Peer Who Fled The Nazis Condemns His Party's Immigration Crackdown
Lord Dubs said he was "lost for words".
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
lsangha.bsky.social
'The science select committee should recognise that its remit covers all of research, and conduct an inquiry into the Library, with a view to helping it recover. It could quantify the funding that is needed to properly rebuild the Library’s digital infrastructure'.
hetanshah.bsky.social Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 6d
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
hetanshah.bsky.social
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
samirashackle.bsky.social
The line “vote for us or you’ll get the far right” doesn’t really work when the policies you’re enacting are barely distinguishable from what the far right propose.
November 17, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
kgbaston.bsky.social
An update on my 'Book Borrowing Surgeons' project, funded by an @oldedinburghclub.bsky.social Jean Guild Grant. You can see the Receipt Book I'm working on in digital form here: borrowing.stir.ac.uk/library/edin...
November 14, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Noble
paddington82.bsky.social
Labour is a “godsend” for Farage says the far-right.
November 16, 2025 at 7:11 AM